In the young adult novel Secret Circles,
F. Paul Wilson continues the story of the young Jack as he lays the
groundwork for the Repairman that he will become. In the first of this
trilogy –– Secret Histories –– Wilson explored Jack’s teenage
friendship with Weezy and Eddie Connell and how they become acquainted
with Ernst Drexler, “actuator” for the Ancient Septimus Fraternal
Order. Knowing this background illuminated the events that occurred in Ground Zero, when we saw these people converging again as adults. (The last book in this young adult trilogy, Secret Vengeance, is currently scheduled for publication by Gauntlet Press in December, 2010.)

Perhaps the events of Secret Circles will likewise inform what transpires in the next Repairman Jack book, Fatal Error
(publication set for June/July, 2010). Regardless, before it is
finished, this tale for younger readers will grab them by the throats,
shake them without mercy, then leave them limp and trembling by the
time the story is told.

The target audience will love it…

In Secret Circles, Jack, his
female friend Weezy, and her brother Eddie venture once more into the
Pine Barrens, an almost mystical realm where all manner of odd events
can –– and do –– occur. Weezy is obsessed with the mysterious black
pyramid that was stolen from her at the end of Secret Histories.
Her relentless focus on retrieving what she discovered –– and thereby
proving that she is not crazy –– drives one of the major plot lines in Secret Circles.
She is convinced that Drexler has hidden her trophy in the seemingly
impregnable realm of the Lodge that he guards so closely. As Weezy’s
best friend, Jack is –– despite his better judgment –– drawn into this
dangerous quest.

Circles, of course, seamlessly
connect some things while simultaneously separating others. This dual
theme of ruthless separation and unavoidable association runs
throughout Secret Circles. Before Jack and Weezy are finished,
they will become immersed in a chain of events that drags them in
directions they would prefer not to go. But despite the perils they
face from the sheltered secrets of the Barrens and of Drexler’s Lodge,
the worst secrets are those that are hidden in plain sight.

“...The truth is. We can twist it
every which way with our minds and our words, but that doesn’t change
the truth. The truth is what trips you up when you walk around with
your eyes closed.” (p. 210 - 211)

Secret Circles has Jack torn
between the “bliss of ignorance” and the pain of discovering and facing
“the truth”: about himself, about his friends, about his community. For
Jack, though, the eventual choice is inherent in his very nature. Even
as a young man, reality is Jack’s touchstone. He could no more evade
that reality, could no more fail to identify the “actual” than he could
ignore the injustices that thrust themselves into his awareness.

While Weezy is determined to expose
the Secret History of the World, Jack finds himself impelled to reveal
the secret history of a far more mundane menace, a monster posing as a
model family man, a man who once stood as a paragon of fatherhood and a
personal friend of Jack, a man running for political office. How Jack
decides to take on this example of real-world horror and display its
depravity for all to see forms a second major element in Secret Circles.

But while this on-the-job-training
to become a “repairman” is a task Jack is dedicated to finishing, he is
not without personal qualms as to the wisdom of his actions. Indeed, he
wonders how to reconcile his convictions with the condemnation of what
he is doing by the very people he is endeavoring to help.

He ponders this dilemma with a fellow classmate and potential romantic interest, Karina Haddon:

“But...someone invaded their privacy.” [Jack said.]

“Yeah, true, but he was running for public office. Don’t people have a right to know who they’re voting for? I want to know everything about anybody who’s going to be making decisions that affect me.”

“Everyone’s got a right to privacy.”

[Karina] nodded. “Absolutely. But
if you want privacy, don’t go public. A man with a secret life
shouldn’t step into the spotlight and expect to keep his secrets…”

I like you, Karina Haddon, Jack thought. (p. 210 - 211)

Jack, of course, acknowledges that
he has secrets of his own to conceal. The crucial difference, however,
between his desire to keep his life private –– from friends and family,
from society and State –– and the similar hope of Mr. Vivino is that
the latter’s inclination is designed to protect his world from
legitimate scrutiny and thus provide him license to continue his evil
behavior. Jack’s goal, however, is simply to protect his own life from
those who would rob him of his values, from those who seek to control
and chain him, to use him as a means to their own dishonorable ends.

More so than its predecessor, Secret Circles
ratchets the tension to nearly unbearable levels. The disappearance of
five-year-old Cody Bockman traumatizes both Jack and the small New
Jersey community in which he lives. Intersecting circles lead Jack
towards the secret of Cody’s dire fate. As the story approached the
final resolution, I found myself reading as quickly as I could, both
drawn by the (literally) dark peril and –– much like Jack –– fearfully
reluctant to face head-on that “truth” Jack would ultimately unearth;
eager to discover reality but dreading what I would find.

Secret Circles asks many of
its characters to decide how important such stark truth is to them.
Some want nothing more than to be “seen” for who they are. Others are
desperately anxious to maintain the facade they have carefully
cultivated to conceal the reality of their tarnished existences.
Whether Weezy or Jack or the “Pineys,” Mr. Drexler or Mr. Vivino or
Vivino’s wife, all must choose and face the consequences of the
difficult path they have selected.

For as Mr. Rosen (owner of USED
[sic], youthful Jack’s employer, and literary cousin of adult Jack’s
friend, Abe) could tell them about his own history in Nazi Germany,
being committed to the truth is important...but rarely is such
allegiance easy.

In this second of the trilogy, we
are reacquainted with the strange Mrs. Clevenger and her deceptively
innocent (yet deadly) three-legged dog. Her odd friend, Weird Walt,
also comes to the forefront as he and his guardian do their best to
protect the future Repairman. And, of course, the shadowy “bear” that
is the Jersey Devil threads its way into the fabric of the novel in
critical ways that presage encounters yet to come.

While I enjoyed Secret Histories, this trilogy has really hit its stride with Secret Circles.
The truth is that this is a “young” adult novel that any adult reader
of Wilson’s saga will enjoy. I look forward to the last volume in this
trilogy and the final two Repairman Jack novels that will reveal the
secrets, once and for all, of this battle between mindless destruction
and oh-so-fragile life.